Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Feminine hobbies

I have compiled a list of hobbies for those of you who are looking for something fun to fill up your spare time.


  • soap making

  • flower arranging

  • cooking/baking


  • gardening


  • painting

  • language learning

  • reading and writing


  • playing an instrument

  • dancing

  • sewing/crocheting


  • singing

  • interior designing


Hobbies are important because they give you something to look forward to and feel good. Feminine hobbies are important for harnessing your femininity and creativity. You can take any of the hobbies above and make it an outlet for stress, sadness, happiness, hope, joy. etc.

My favorite hobbies are sewing and gardening because I feel that they are both vintage and it makes me feel extra lady like :) I put on some soft music and I can sew/garden for hours! Plus when you find something you are passionate about, you yearn for improvement and seek knowledge about the subject. For instance after I grew my first tomato vine, I wanted to grow more types of tomatoes and now I have 13!

What are your favorite hobbies?

Monday, December 15, 2014

Celebrating the holidays




When December 1st rolls around, it's almost like my own little world inside my head goes a little bit coo-coo and into a hazy cloud of glitter, fairy lights, and all things festive. My personal favourite time of year :)



I've always had a vague notion that traditions and rituals were good for you. My family thought it was corny that I made cards and dressed up for each holiday even if we didn't celebrate it ( like St. Patrick's day) but I enjoyed it! And as it turns out, decades of research back up my hunch on this topic.

Since the 1950s researchers have studied the role of traditions in family life. Not just holidays but any routine or set of behaviors that has a symbolic meaning and says "this is who we are" as a group. Psychologists link these kinds of practices with higher academic success, happiness and emotional well being for the family. When parents ascribe a high level of meaning to rituals, the children are found to have better emotional skills. Not only that, but it aids in marital satisfaction as well :) Practicing meaningful traditions also relieves stress and lowers anxiety levels.

Why are rituals so powerful? They offer regularity and a sense of order. When you know what to expect and have a feeling of "this is the way my family does things" it helps you make sense of the world. Do you remember how excited you got when you made your favorite Christmas recipe with your mother? Or when you made gingerbread houses at school? You have every right to still get excited about those things as you get older. In "Family Routines and Rituals by Barbara Fiese" it states that the more meaningful older teenagers felt their family rituals were, the more likely they are to have a strong sense of themselves and be able to handle the stress of going to college freshman year.


What I like to do is what most people do every Thanksgiving. They say what they are grateful for, etc. Every holiday I reflect on what I am grateful for, what I am working towards, what goals I have achieved since the last holiday, etc. It sounds like a lot but I have found that talking to myself and keeping track of my personal development helps me get to know myself more. As I've said in a previous post, I have suffered from anxiety and depression in the past and have learned how to cope through times of grief like the loss of my younger brother and financial problems in the past. I am a big stickler for emotional health and I value the holidays because each one gives me the chance to celebrate something beautiful about life.

If this sounds like a good idea to you and you'd like to try it, I suggest getting a notebook and using it as a journal. Or you can even start a blog :) Here are some prompts:
1.Dear past me...
2. Dear future me...
3.The people you most admire
4.What book did you read over and over again as a child?
5. What would your perfect day be like?
6.How would your best friend describe you?
7.Name your top 5 short term goals

Now onto Christmas-y things!







Food

30 comfort winter soups

Ginger Bread Cupcakes Recipe

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Decor

Christmas chalkboard decor

White Christmas

So pretty

Green & White

Drinks

Cranberry Mimosa

Sparkling Sugar Plum Punch

Beauty

Themed nails

More nails

Alex nails


Enjoy the holidays and treat yourself well.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Being an Angry BW is understandable but don't let it take over your life!

Why are BW angry? How we can stop being angry?



Short answer: We are the victims of racism and sexism. We can stop being angry by not giving a f&*k! LOL

First, let's define anger. Anger is an emotional response to one's psychological interpretation of feeling threatened. Anger is based upon projection of fear.

Feeling threatened as a BW is completely understandable seeing as how we face discrimination from both racists and sexists. We have the unique experience of being Black and a woman. The women who march, protest and rally for Black male victims of violent racism are the women who focus only on racism; they do not see or care that they face sexism from the very same men who they risk their lives protecting. These women do not see how these very same men are the ones who do not protect them when they are victims of racism, too. They believe that if there were no racism then their lives would be easier but that is not the case. They still would be oppressed because they are women. They refuse to accept the fact that we are not the preference of “our” men . They refuse to see that the modern BM's response to racism is not to rebuild the community and be self-sufficient, but to get revenge on the WM who oppress them and the BW who failed to raise them to be real men.

BW are not bitter, we are disappointed. Modern BM are the bitter ones. They punish women who remind them of their mother because they blame her for failing to raise him and teach him how to be on level with WM, AM and HM. He knows that he can't compete so instead of improving himself and encouraging other BM to do the same, he resents his own mother instead of his absent father (isn't that funny?). The ultimate revenge for him is to “steal” a WW, AW or HW from their men who show him up in every way and try to “taint” that women and produce children that are half him. It's all a game to get revenge but instead of hurting WM, he is entertaining them. Every other race is laughing at his desperate attempt to get even instead of get on par. If BP back in the day had continued to build up Black America instead of integrate with White America, the BC wouldn't be in the state it is now.

Black women are angry because we are intelligent. We see the world for what it is and deep inside we know what the BM's agenda is. We handle this higher awareness by becoming angry. We stew in the anger and turn it inward, that's when it becomes depression, low-self esteem and other self-destructive behavior.

What should we do about anger? Get rid of the self-destructive habits that are caused by anger but keep enough (a small amount) to fuel the spirit to do better! Turn the disappointment from the BC into motivation to improve our lives. Not just your own life but for our daughters, nieces, sisters, friends and neighbors. I don't expect every BW to jump on board as we have been brainwashed to hate ourselves, thus some of us hate each other. I have hate in my heart for NO ONE but I saw the world, especially the BC for what it is at a VERY young age.

Here are some tips for letting go of anger:

  1. Acknowledge it
  2. Seek help. I'm a big believer in therapy.
  3. Channel it. Not only will exercise help you mentally but physically as well. Same with creative outlets like writing poetry and singing.
  4. Decide that you don't want to add hate to this world.
  5. Replace revenge and seeking justice with a plan to strive for a better life.

BW need to concentrate less on the negative things about us on the tv, radio and social media. Purge your life from the bull crap! What do you think WW, AW and HW do when they read a negative article or blogpost or someone makes a joke about them? Brush it off and keep doing them. They know they are desired and work on themselves to get the best in education, jobs and men. BW should do the same. We are desired, too. Men of all races love them some sistas, don't let butthurt BM or mammies tell you any different. You may have to move to Europe or change your whereabouts (move to a more populated places like NYC or London, get a job in a male-dominated field, hang out in social hangouts that you normally wouldn't) but there are men out there who not only like BW but prefer us. The next time a comedian makes a joke about BW, do not get riled up and give your energy to this fool! Make a note to make sure not to give this person your resources (time and money) and keep it moving. Let the BM spend his time fighting racism and let the white feminists spend their time fighting sexism. Both these groups have proven that they don't care about BW so forget them! You've got better things to do sista! Like building a fabulous life and enjoying the fruit of your labor and social climbing ;)

From now on, I want you to pledge to yourself that you will dedicate your time to things that are beneficial to your emotional, mental, financial, education and romantic well-being. Despite what you may have heard, BW are naturally beautiful, feminine, intelligent, sexy and creative. We deserve better but to get better we must learn how to respect and love ourselves.

Here is a list of what I will be concentrating on. I'd like for you to take a look at it and come up with your own list of what you'd like to do with all the free time that you have now.

  1. Obtaining an advanced degree.
  2. Visiting at least 4 more countries.
  3. Having a fun and memorable wedding.
  4. Losing weight.
  5. Finishing the list of books I want to read.
  6. Becoming more cultured.
  7. Starting a non-profit.
  8. Creating multiple streams of income.
  9. Buying my first house.
  10. Expanding my skill set for access to better jobs and more opportunities for side businesses.
  11. Learning a third or fourth language.
  12. Improving my water color painting skills.
  13. Blogging.
  14. Building a fabulous wardrobe.
  15. Learning more about fashion and making my own clothing.
  16. Growing my hair to waist length.
  17. Publish my own cookbook.


If you have any questions or comments, leave a comment below and I will get back to you. I can also be reached at enlightenedfemme (at) gmail.com

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Small ways to boost your confidence

1. Identify your talents.
It doesn't matter what it is! I happen to be pretty good at cross stitching. I've mentioned this to someone and they called it "granny" but it's something I enjoy and that I'm good at. For every person who doesn't like what you do, there are many more who appreciate it and find it interesting.

2. Remind you of yourself.
Every morning, write something about yourself. It can be something big, like your worst fear or what you want most in life or something small like your favorite color or type of dog. Keep these thoughts in a journal and look back at them from time to time. Taking the time to acknowledge the things you care about make you feel like you matter, like you're a real person with thought, hope and dreams.

I started doing this two years ago. At first, I used various colors to write things and draw little cartoons to match. Now, I've upgraded to making images, sort of like memes. Things like this are all over the internet. Google "things I like" or "bucket list" or "things that make me smile" and you will find some done by people all over the world! It's amazing how much we can have in common with total strangers from completely different backgrounds, right? :)

3. Let go of the need to be accepted and loved by everyone.
Not only is it unrealistic but it's too much work and energy! There's a quote by a woman I admire for her femininity, Dita Von Teese


Aspiring to be loved by everyone requires you to constantly change yourself to fit a certain mold. That will cause you mental anguish and you will start to feel lost. After a while, you will begin to wonder "who am I?"

4. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you have made.
If you knew better, you'd do better. Put more effort into learning how to do better and less into making yourself feel guilty about mistakes that we ALL make. Noone is perfect.

5. Show gratitude.
Gratitude is the quality of being grateful and the readiness of showing appreciation. Being alive is something to be thankful for! Many people take this for granted and it is truly sad. Every day is an opportunity to appreciate this beautiful planet, your culture, other people's culture and everything else.

Speaking for myself, I am very grateful to be American. I was born into a family with lots of mental, drug, alcohol and poverty issues but I am grateful for the opportunity I had to get away from it all. There are resources upon resources in this country to turn your life around! Even though I believe there is a socio-economic and political system to keep certain groups of people in their place, there are still many ways to go from being poor to being middle class and even rich. Some people in countries aren't afforded these privileges :( That's why I'm grateful because I can recognize and be thankful for it. Not only that, but one day when I can afford it, I would like to give back and help people. That would definetly build my confidence-knowing I can make a difference in someone's life and seeing them smile!


Those are just a few tips I had jotted down in one of my many notebooks. If you have any confidence tips, please post them below and share. Thanks! xoxo